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Vigil's Keep
Vigil's Keep, informally known as the Vigil, is an ancient fortress in the Arling of Amaranthine, in north-east Ferelden. It was formerly the seat of the Howe family and is now the Grey Wardens' main base in Ferelden. History The fortress was built by Alamarri Avvars to stop the Tevinter advance from the North. In their time it was known as the Fort of a Thousand Vigils. It was built over caves leading to the Deep Roads, believed to be carved as a gift from Korth, an Avvarian god of mountains. The Avvars residing in the fortress lived peacefully with the dwarves, which was unusual as the dwarves were allied with their enemy, the Tevinters. The alliance of Avvars and dwarves predates building the fortress. The dwarves helped the Avvars defeat and bind a dangerous shade called the Dark Theurge, who was previously one of their own, Ruadan. As the Avvar culture declined, the ownership of the keep changed, eventually becoming the property of the Fereldan noble Howe family from which they governed the entire Arling of Amaranthine. Vigil's Keep was the first fortress to fall during the Orlesian invasion in Ferelden and the last to be liberated during the Fereldan Rebellion. It is also the place where Prince Maric Theirin met Byron Howe in order to thank him for his support of the rebellion. Recent Events In 9:31 Dragon, after Arl Rendon Howe disgraced his family during the Fifth Blight, the Howes were stripped of all their holdings, including Vigil's Keep. The keep itself was then run by Fereldan soldiers. The last soldier to be in charge of the keep was Lieutenant Gable. The stronghold became a temporary base for Orlesian Grey Wardens who were helping Ferelden in the aftermath of the Blight, killing darkspawn stragglers. In the month of Ferventis of the same year, the keep was officially given to the Grey Wardens by the Fereldan monarchy along with the rest of the Arling. The Warden-Commander was appointed to re-establish the Grey Wardens presence in Ferelden, using Vigil's Keep as the order's main base. The keep was assaulted by the Architect's disciples who either killed or kidnapped all of the Grey Wardens stationed there. It was a surprise attack on the day the keep was to be officially handed over to the Warden-Commander. The darkspawn entered the keep from a Deep Roads entrance located in the basement. The Deep Roads run deep underneath the keep. The Warden-Commander investigated the Deep Roads and, with the help of Voldrik Glavonak, shut the access to the keep. Warden-Commander later saved Amaranthine while the Wardens and soldiers successfully defended Vigil's Keep against the Mother's darkspawn horde, for a time the Warden Commander remained in the Keep in order to oversee operations until they disappeared from their post 9:32 Dragon. The Keep remained vacant for some time until Roderick Vimes was appointed Warden Commander of the Keep and began efforts to reestablish a Grey Warden presence in the area, recruitment and operations are ongoing to this very day.